Deathwatch Incoming!

The introduction of the Deathwatch Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes dates back many years ago now, and even when they first appeared in White Dwarf, they quickly became a favorite. Their rules were one of the first types of allies one could add to their Imperial force, but beyond a single Kill Team unit, they never quite got into the mainstream of Warhammer 40,000, despite their bits always being in high demand.

Where the Deathwatch have gotten their due is as part of the Fantasy Flight Deathwatch RPG, and with new Black Library fiction as well.

For those of us with Deathwatch in our model collections, finding creative ways to incorporate them into our games now in v6 has become easier with the Allies rules, but fielding them as a Sternguard squad is about the best that can be done within the current ruleset.

Of course, for myself this fell a bit short of the mark, and I really wanted to get my Deathwatch models onto the table. With all of the great third-party scenarios which Astronomi-con is famous for, the idea to feature the Deathwatch as a third-party force seemed to strike a chord.

Initially, we revised an old Astronomi-con scenario we featured at Winnipeg, named Bug Hunt, which had players searching a destroyed Adeptus Mechanicus Biologis reseach complex for Genestealer test subjects. This setting seemed perfect for introducing the Deathwatch of the Ordo Xenos. They were added to be a spoiler force – with their mission to destroy the Genestealer test subjects and ensure these secrets did not fall into anyone’s hands.

We went a step further with a second similar scenario, which we have now updated for v6 and most recently made its debut at Astronomi-con Toronto: Intervention

While the Deathwatch units in this mission represent models from my own collection, it would be very easy to substitute models from one’s own collection instead.